The planning process continues to provide “Good things come to those that wait”, but could the planning system be a little more expeditious in delivering vital housing in the most sustainable locations? Optimis is delighted to receive a recent planning permission at the local level for a site in Leighton Buzzard this month, that took 160 weeks from its planning submission. There is a massive shortage of small affordable homes in urban locations, and this case demonstrates the planning process and the current regulatory system is falling short of its requirement to deliver sustainable development in a timely manner. 

A brownfield site, with an already implemented consent, was redesigned in 2022 and an application for 16 apartments was painstakingly negotiated through to a positive outcome at committee in July 2024, a mere 65 weeks later. The legal process to sign off a simple section 106 was surely only a matter of weeks away? Fast forward a further 95 weeks and the decision was issued. If the system is designed to deliver planning decisions in 13 weeks, does it really need to take 160 for an uncontroversial development of an urban site?